Three get death in Saudi for plots to 'wreak havoc'

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA- Three people were sentenced to death and several others jailed in Saudi Arabia on Monday for Al-Qaeda linked crimes including the deadly bombing of a foreigners' housing compound, official media said.
The attack on the Al-Mahya compound 11 years ago killed 17 people, mostly from Arab countries.

A special court in the capital Riyadh convicted a total of eight accused, the official Saudi Press Agency said. In addition to those who received the death penalty, five others in the same "cell" were jailed for between 25 and 30 years for crimes including weapons possession and money laundering, SPA said. It described as "heinous" the acts of those sentenced to death but did not detail their exact roles. The group was convicted of offences that included "pledging allegiance to Al-Qaeda", and planning to storm companies and a residential compound in the Gulf coast community of Khobar, SPA said. There they planned to kill "a large number of people from different nationalities as well as security men," it added. The accused also prepared car bombs in a plan to "wreak havoc" inside the kingdom, SPA said. Authorities in 2011 established specialised tribunals to try Saudis and foreigners accused of belonging to Al-Qaeda or of involvement in deadly attacks in the country from 2003-2006. The latest convictions come with Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbours taking part in US-led air strikes against Islamic State group extremists in Syria, which has raised concerns about possible retaliation in the kingdom. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------